PhD Studentship: Novel interfaces for video generation through intuitive storyboarding using Sketch

This PhD explores novel interfaces for video generation through intuitive storyboarding approaches, enabling users to create high-quality video content from simple sketched keyframes. The research will develop multimodal control systems that allow creators to guide video generation through a combination of rough sketches, text descriptions, and gesture inputs, transforming traditional storyboarding workflows into interactive real-time video creation tools. This work aims to democratise video production by bridging the gap between simple visual ideation and sophisticated AI-driven video synthesis. 

Prof. Yi Zhe Song (Lead Supervisor), second supervisor (TBC, Surrey), plus Expert Mentor at Royal Holloway (TBC).

This PhD is aligned with the CoSTAR research themes: AI Futures / Createch Futures / Inclusive Futures.

For more information on CoSTAR and the PhD opportunities please see: 

https://www.costarnetwork.co.uk/latest/come-research-with-us-at-costar-national-lab

Supervisor: Professor Yi-Zhe Song

Entry requirements

Open to candidates who pay UK/home rate fees. See UKCISA for further information. Starting in October 2025.

You will need to meet the minimum entry requirements for our PhD programme.

How to apply

Stage 1: Please contact the Lead Supervisor of the PhD opportunity via email (Professor Yi-Zhe Song) and work with the Lead Supervisor and supervisory team to send your CV and 500-word Expression of Interest by Friday March 14th, 2025.

Funding

Fully and directly funded for this project only. Award covers UK tuition fees and provide a stipend at the UKRI rate for a period of 3 years. The stipend (Tax-free maintenance payment based on the UKRI minimum rate) is £20,780 from 1 October 2025.

Application deadline: 14 March 2025

Enquiries: Contact Professor Yi-Zhe Song

Ref: PGR-2425-025

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